TUESDAY TANGENT: Mass Effect and Difficulty

My favorite kind of video game is the ‘role playing’ type. Just what constitutes an RPG is open to debate— but to me, it is something that allows me to play the role of a character- to make decisions that impact the world around them and shape the story of the game. However, I am also a fan shooters (first or third person). It should come as no surprise, then, that the Mass Effect game series is one of my favorites. These games combine incredibly well-done storytelling with increasingly more ‘visceral’ gunfighting combat. But if I were forced to choose one or the other, the RPG aspect would definitely come first.

This attitude and the desire to experience the story of these games often causes me to do my initial run-through on very low difficulty settings. In fact, most of my subsequent run-throughs are on the ‘casual’ or ‘average’ settings. This allows me to focus more on the story and worry less about the combat (which is, in my opinion, ultimately peripheral).

That being said, once I have completed the game (usually several times over), I have made a point of going back through on the most difficult setting available- or at least I have done so with both Mass Effect games thus far. I have recently finished doing so with Mass Effect 2 and discovered something quite interesting along the way— a sense of real accomplishment and a whole new appreciation for a game that I have played literally dozens of times.

Oddly enough, instead of detracting from the RP elements, the incredibly difficult combats often made me much more ‘involved’ than I normally am. A case in point is the whole last act of Mass Effect 2- the final confrontation with the villains. The fights were incredibly difficult, requiring me to really make use of ALL the ‘bells and whistles’ of the combat system. I had to think tactically, ordering my companions into advantageous positions. I had to make use of the variety of special abilities that I and my companions had- I couldn’t just shoot bullets into every problem to solve it. I had to always be mindful of my ammo and medical supplies. And in the end, this playthrough really made me feel as though I were part of a ‘unit’ rather than a lone gunman.

For example, there was a part of the game where zombie-like beasts were swarming my small group. We had to keep falling back, until at last we were cornered. Things were looking pretty grim. Then one of my companions- Grunt the Krogan (big brick lizard dude) does his battle cry. “I. AM. KROGAN!” and suddenly charges forward, trampling down and destroying most of the zombie horde. I had heard him use that cry dozens times before. I’d even seen his charge before. But in that desperate situation I actually cheered out loud.

There were plenty of other situations like that throughout the playthrough. More than once, my companions saved my butt (or vice versa) by a well-timed shot or Biotic body slam. And in the midst of actual adrenaline filled combat, those actions had a lot more impact. The climactic string of battles were especially intense- most notably those events that were time dependent. No way I was going to let Tali die in those ventilation shafts!

In short (too late), it was almost like playing a brand new game.

It also got me thinking about my table-top gaming and some of the ‘best fights’ we’ve ever had there. In my Star Wars group, in particular, we have had a LOT of fights. But the ones we really remember were the most hard-fought- where the players really had to pull out all the stops in order to just survive. So yeah. Next time we play, I might crank up the difficulty setting a few notches and see what happens.

Star Wars, Realism and Ion Drives

As always, I tend to overthink things related to the Star Wars movies. One of these things is the ‘reality’ of space travel- or rather, the dangers involved in it. It is one of the things glossed over in almost all Sci Fi films, but which is a huge threat in real-life space travel- namely: Collisions. I’m not talking about ships hitting other ships or even meteors or asteroids, but the idea of micro-meteors and other tiny bits of matter that could be traveling at incredible speeds. Just one hit by one of these fragments could seriously damage even a large ship. And when you think of a spacefaring culture like the one shown in Star Wars, there would likely be all KINDS of space junk floating around. How is it, then, that ships in the Star Wars universe aren’t just torn to shreds on a regular basis- to say nothing of trying to navigate a battlefield with all kinds of debris flying around.

One could say that the whole issue is simply avoided by ships having ‘shields’ and that these shields deflect any such incoming matter. That's fine. I’m good with that. But what about all those ships out there that don’t have shields. Like TIE fighters, for instance- though there are several other examples (at least in expanded universe continuity). How is it that TIE fighters and other unshielded ships can fly through battle-zones likely FILLED with deadly particles and not get destroyed.

Well, I have a theory- entirely made up, of course, and no doubt riddled with scientific impossibilities, but a theory nonetheless. I am also borrowing bits of pseudo science from Star Trek (and likely other sources I don’t know about).

In any case, Starships in the Star Wars universe are described as having ‘Ion Drives’ as their primary means of sublight propulsion. Like most Star Wars tech, the exact functioning of such devices is purposely vague.

Well, what if these Ion Drives weren’t simply thrusters that propelled a ship, but ‘generators’ as well- something that created an ‘ionized bubble’ around a starship (a-la the ‘warp field’ utilized in the Trek universe). In effect they surround a ship with a field of energy that ‘streamlines’ the ship from bow to stern, perhaps even functioning like a ‘slip-stream’- both pulling and pushing the ship through space. This ion-bubble would divert micro-meteors and other small space debris- instead of hitting the ship, they would just ‘flow around’ it. To me, at least, this is a tidy little way to talk around at least one of the real life hazards of space travel.

It might also explain why some vessels (like the X-Wing) seem to have forward facing ‘intakes’ to their engines. Perhaps these are not intakes, but rather the forward ‘projectors’ of the Ion Drive. I don’t know, but again, it works for me.

And on a slight tangent, I am of the opinion that the ‘solar panels’ on the TIE fighter are NOT solar panels at all, rather they ARE the ‘Twin Ion Engines’ of the craft (not those two little red dots on the back of the cockpit pod). Instead of conventional ‘thrusters’, these engine panels use an ionic charge to both draw and push the fighter through space. The large size of these ‘engine panels’ would certainly help explain the speed of the craft relative to its size.

Interesting Star Wars Quote

I was recently going back through some old Star Wars DVDs I had- a 'home made' collection of the various Star Wars TV specials that have aired over the years. I wound up watching one that must have come out in the era between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. This particular behind the scenes special was narrated by Mark Hamill. During the show, he made a couple comments (scripted or not) that I found interesting. The first was regarding the Force:

"More people ask me about the Force than anything else. And I don't like to be too specific when I answer. Everyone has their own ideas about it. And if none of them is exactly right, none of them is necessarily wrong. Ultimately, the Force is what YOU make of it."

Wow. If only they'd continued with that outlook in the prequels. I mean, of all the things that did NOT need more explaining, the origin and nature of the Force was one of them.

Another, more telling, statement came in the closing moments of the special:

"Special effects are the purest form of movie making. With them, we can create visions that owe nothing to any other form of artistic expression—and which no other art can possibly duplicate. We now possess a technology that places anything man can imagine within reach of the camera. There's no place, past, present or future it cannot go.

But if we possess this new technology, we mustn't allow it to possess us-as so many of this century's great inventions have come to do. For in the end, a special effect is just a special effect. If it isn't surrounded by people we care about- if it doesn't serve a story that moves and involves us- and if (above all) it doesn't help us to grasp some larger imaginative vision, then it is just a trick- a gimmick."

When I look at the special effect-laden prequel trilogy, I find this whole statement rather ironic. The prequels were gorgeous to look at, without a doubt, but with 'wooden' acting and writing they (to me at least) lack the impact of the original movies. Anyway, I just thought it was interesting.

TUESDAY TANGENT: BIOWARE GAME DESIGN

I am by no means a designer of video games. But I would consider myself a fairly experienced player of video games—at least of the RPG variety. Admittedly, most of my experience in this area comes from Bioware games—starting with Knights of the Old Republic. But I feel that this actually adds to my ‘credibility’ in what I am about to talk about.

I would like to start by saying that I think Bioware is an excellent company. They’ve given me hours of fun- hell.. days and weeks of fun, even. But they aren’t perfect. One needs to look no further than Dragon Age 2 to see that. As much as I would defend the game to others, I have also come to realize that the ‘little faults’ of the game have finally added up to an overall disappointment for me.

I mean, I didn’t mind the recycled environments or the ever-present ‘second wave’ of enemies spawning in after every fight, or the fact that the kinds of enemies you fought started to become very repetitive by the end of the game (wow. More demons. Really?). Taken individually, these things can be forgiven (by me) if there is a good story to tell. And for the most part, there was. But that’s the problem- it was just a ‘good’ story, not a GREAT one. That’s the problem for a company like Bioware. If ‘excellent’ is the norm, then anything ‘average’ stands out like a sore thumb. And compared to most every other game they have produced, Dragon Age 2 was just ‘average’ for me.

Now, I do NOT have a lot of the problems with it that other folks do. I liked the faster-paced combat. I liked the streamlined inventory and skill system. I didn’t care that my companions dressed themselves and chose their own unique fighting styles. In fact, I liked that. Overall, I didn’t ‘have a problem’ with the story, either- except that it was less focused than Dragon Age: Origins. But when you combine that with the aforementioned ‘little’ problems, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. For me, DA2 fell apart not from some single game-breaking item, but rather a collection of little things “I wished they’d done differently”.

And that trend seems to have continued (for me at least) in one of their Downloadable Content packages- namely the “Legacy” add on. Overall, it was a fun-enough sideline. I especially enjoyed the fact that you get to know your character’s father- and it was nice that if you brought your sibling along, they were impacted by it as well. In fact, I was really LOVING the content right up until the final act.

Here, you have to face an incredibly powerful enemy who makes you run through an increasingly lethal maze in order to finally confront him. Essentially, you’re running in circles, constantly destroying ‘power sources’ that your enemy is using, all the while dodging spawned in creatures and a maze of obstacles. It is a very difficult fight- and it seemed to me to be set up especially for PC gamers- in that in order to successfully get through the maze, you had to constantly tell your NPC companions EXACTLY where to go in order to keep them from being destroyed by the wall of fire that was constantly chasing you through the maze. Now, on the PC you can ‘zoom out’ from the action more than you can in the console. Likewise, you can select your team as a group and have them all move together. On the console, neither of these options seemed to be available (if they were, I sure as heck couldn’t find them). This meant that I had to try and run this gauntlet by constantly pausing the game, switching from one character to the next and telling them where to go. I literally played this battle for HOURS and finally had to RAGE QUIT for a while to calm down- Because every time you died in this final fight, you had to start all the way from the beginning- including a cut scene and the SAME dialogue over and over.

That marks the first time I have EVER had to RAGE QUIT a Bioware game. Ever. And that says something.

To me, this end battle was just a huge FU by whoever designed it. The game gave me helpful hints like “If you’re having a hard time, switch to a lower difficulty level”. Unfortunately, I had already SWITCHED to the lowest difficulty setting and still, after hours of playing, could not get through it. Things were made worse by the fact that without direction, your NPC companions would die within five seconds.

Ultimately, I beat the battle by buffing my main character and allowing all my companions to die (within five seconds). I was just BARELY able to beat the main bad guy. For this, I got the Achievement ‘Conductor’. Evidently a joke on the fact that in order to beat this particular battle, you have to be able to ‘conduct’ (orchestrate) your entire team. Well, if that was the goal, I failed horribly. And when I was done with this DLC I was in the strange position of NEVER wanting to play it again. Sure, the story line was interesting enough, but the thought of having to go through that battle again just makes me ill.

Yes, you could make fun of me for not being as good a gamer as most folks- and I don’t claim to be. But the end result was, that even on the lowest difficulty, I was having no fun. And that is the worst result you can get from any game design choice.

In the end, this really tainted my view of DA2 overall. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This failing was made all the more noticeable by the fact that I was simultaneously playing Mass Effect 2 and its downloadable content. I am currently in the process of trying to beat that game on its highest difficulty level (Insanity). It is tough. Very tough. Very challenging. It is occasionally frustrating and sometimes scares the crap out of me (i.e. the ‘threats’ presented really are that). But the design is such that I have (so far) not had to quit the game in a rage because of a design choice. The challenges are VERY hard, but I can find my own way through them- apply tactics and strategies that work for me in that particular situation. I am not simply a rat running through a maze in the ONE particular way that the designer intended or I will die.

In short, I feel that ME2 was much better designed than DA2. And that seems to be a function of time- in that DA2 felt rushed- which is really a shame.

Star Wars Plot Holes

As much as I love the original trilogy (minus all its recent 'improvements'), there are still a few things about these Star Wars movies that have never sat quite well with me- from a purely 'logical' sense, that is. The one I'm going to focus on (briefly) in this post is the whole Mission to Endor at the end of Return of the Jedi.

I am perfectly alright with the whole concept of the Rebel attack on the Death Star. Yes, it is all a bit 'shooting from the hip', but then the Rebels know they are taking a risk here. They just feel that the risk is worth the possible reward. I'm even cool with the whole plan of sneaking people onto Endor using a stolen shuttle and codes. Where that falls apart (for me at least) is after the shuttle has passed through the Imperial blockade. They reported that they are a 'parts and technical crew for the forest moon'. That makes sense, but then they land the shuttle, apparently, in the middle of the forest- a couple days march from the ONLY Imperial installation (that we know of) on the planet. Considering how tight security MUST have been in the system (especially with the Emperor there), you would think that SOMEONE would have noticed this shuttle going off course and heading for the boonies. I mean, they probably had limited approach vectors and ALL that stuff.

Now, you COULD explain this all away by saying that the Empire 'allowed' them to land, since Vader had already sensed Luke and knew there were shenanigans in the works. But that wouldn't explain why the Rebels would have thought this was a good plan. So, yeah. There we are a pretty big plot hole if you ask me. And quite honestly, I don't have a way to 'fix' this. Perhaps there WERE other Imperial installations on the planet and they 'pretended' to land at one, but instead diverted to the forest. But again, you'd think someone would check on this and follow up- especially when you have an entire day (at least) to notice the discrepancy.

So, ummmm... nope. I'm drawin' a blank here. If anyone else has any bright ideas as to what might close this plot hole, I'm all ears.

Tuesday Tangent: Humanoids

Humanoids

This is another D&D related post- though it applies to pretty much any fantasy setting. In these kind of worlds, one of the things I enjoy are a variety of beasts and beings, both magical and mundane. But on the other hand, I like a little ‘realism’ to my fantasy (other Old School gamers have termed that ‘Gygaxian Naturalism). In short, I like to have my beasties make some kind of ‘sense’- even if it is a convoluted sense I have made up. What I didn’t like about the line of monster books produced for the D&D game was the abandonment of ‘classic’ monsters in favor of the ‘flavor of the week’ new monsters. To me, this was very prevalent in the introduction of various humanoid races in the Fiend Folio and Monster Manual II.

This explosion of humanoid races seems all the more strange when you consider how ‘sub-races’ of Elves and Dwarves and the like were handled- not as their own distinct species- but rather as a variation of a ‘stock’ species, with different cultures and perhaps some minor physical differences.

For my own fantasy world, I would go down this road when handling humanoid creatures. Below are some examples of this:

The Goblin Family.

I see goblins as the ‘basic’ D&D villain, especially for low-level beginner groups. They are dangerous enough in numbers, but weak individually- thus, they make a good ‘cowardly villain’ type. There would be variations of these humanoids mostly based upon what environment they have adapted to:

Stone Goblins: These represent the ‘typical’ goblins, evolved to live in caves located in hilly or mountainous regions. They partner with Worgs and survive by raiding other tribes or settlements nearby. They are short but wirey and deceptively strong for their size.

Forest Goblins: These are lankier versions of the typical goblin- evolved to living in the deepest, darkest parts of forests. Though many tribes continue to ally themselves with Worgs, some groups actually form partnerships with giant spiders, even riding them into battle.

Dark Goblins: These pale-skinned creatures visually resemble the ‘Dark Creeper’ monster of Fiend Folio fame. They are very sensitive to light and typically live in dark caves deep underground. They are masters of stealth- even moreso than your typical goblins. Where possible, groups in large cave systems partner with Giant bats to use in battle and raiding. Some groups who live closer to the surface use these bats as well, riding them out for raids on moonless nights.

Jungle Goblins: These are based off the Tasloi, from the Monster Manual II. They are skinny goblins evolved to living in Jungle canopies. They typically partner with giant insects such as wasps or other jungle types.

Swamp Goblins: These are based off the Bulluwugs from the Fiend Folio. Instead of actually being ‘Frog Men’, they would be bug-eyed, lanky swamp dwellers adept at swimming and jumping. They would also utilize giant frogs as guard and attack beasts.

Gibberlings: Typically found only in the remotest wilderness or caverns, Gibberlings represent Goblins pushed beyond sanity by their desperate situations. They are mad, gibbering things who think only of eating. They would be without the sharp swords specified in the Fiend Folio, however. That never did make much sense to me. In appearance, they would be like ‘normal’ Goblins, only crazed, unkempt and naked.

Hobgoblins: These represent an evolved ‘high’ species of Goblins, larger and more intelligent than their bretheren. They tend to construct their own villages or cave system/fortresses. Depending on the terrain in which they live, they might still ally themselves with any of the ‘beast companions’ the lesser tribes do- such as Worgs or Giant Spiders, etc.

Bugbears: These are huge versions of standard goblins- they are barbarians by nature, taking what they want from any ‘lesser’ (i.e. smaller) species. Again, they might have racial traits and animal companions similar to any of the base goblin tribes.


The Orc Family

There is a bit less variety here as Orcs seem to me to be more ubiquitous than goblins- just as humans are among the ‘good’ races of the surface. Your typical orc is beast-faced (with squinty eyes, protruding brows, blunt noses and pronounced fangs). Their bodies are powerfully built but typically hunched, with long arms and stocky legs.

Grimlocks: This is a variety of Orc adapted to living deep underground. They are albino in nature and blind. They make up for this by having acute senses of hearing and smell.

Orog: These are large orcs- said to be a hybrid between Orcs and Ogres. While not much more intelligent than the base variety, they are quite a bit more powerful.


Beast Men

These represent humanoids that display the distinct traits of various beasts. In most cases, these races were brought about by dark magics and the twisting of humanoid species into unholy ‘man-beast’ hybrids. They are not related to eachother except for this origin. Beast-man tribes include:

Gnolls: Hyena men of desert/arid regions (similar to Northern Africa)- however, they could have spread beyond this to colder regions in search of food. They are fierce fighters, but (like their Hyena stock) are opportunists- preferring the easiest route to prey. They sometimes partner with actual Hyenas.

Ratlings: Rat/Man hybrids, they dwell in swamps or sewers or other places where they can live off the resfuse of others. I see them based somewhat on the Skaven from Warhammer.

Wolfen: Wolf men- essentially like Gnolls, only more prevalent in temperate regions. I see them as being more beastial than the wolfen presented in the Palladium RPG.


Anyway, its time to get back to work. These are just a few ideas I had and wanted to get down in writing.

The Emperor was (and is) awesome

I've commented before on how much I enjoyed the expanded role the Emperor played in the Star Wars Prequels. In fact, I would say this was the high-point in these three movies. And the more I think about his plan and rise to power, the more respect I have for him as a villain. What got me thinking about this again was a conversation I had with a co-worker regarding the Clone Wars cartoon. My work buddy asked (since I am the resident Star Wars guru at work): "If the Darth Sidious is in charge of the Republic AND the Separatists, why can't he simply 'hand' the victory to the Separatists?" To which I replied. "Because he doesn't want them to win. He doesn't want EITHER side to win until the time is right and his goals are accomplished."

And that is what is so freaking awesome about his plan. By fabricating a war and essentially running both sides of it, Palpatine created an environment where he can accomplish ALL the things necessary for him to rise to power. These are as follows:

1) By giving the Republic an external threat Palpatine forces them to create (or rather 'accept') a huge military force where none existed before. So desperate is the Republic in the early days that it completely overlooks the shady origins of the Clone forces entirely.

2) Palpatine creates a crisis whereby people give him emergency powers that will only last 'for the duration of the crisis'. By prolonging the crisis, people get 'used to' him having that power. They begin not to question it.

3) People don't question that power because Palpatine can, whenever he needs to, set up an instance where only HIS foresight and action prevented a major military failure. Thus, he is regarded as a hero- becoming a 'father figure' to his people who would look to him for 'stability' during the war.

4) Palpatine weakens his enemies- and not just the Jedi. Yes, he makes sure THOSE people are at the front of the conflict and are actually being whittled down, but the Separatists themselves would likely oppose Palpatine's bid to 'unite' the galaxy. By spurring them into a war, he grinds THEM down as well. In short, he allows all his potential enemies to destroy each other. Awesome. It is even MORE awesome when you realize that almost all the people on BOTH sides of the conflict do not realize they are being used. I think that, perhaps, Count Dooku knew the plan, but I doubt anyone else did (Grievous, for instance, probably didn't).

5) Palpatine creates a permanent enemy/threat that furthers his anti-alien stance. It is uncertain (to me at least) if Palpatine really hated aliens or if he simply saw them as a way to consolidate his power. Either way, by conspiring to have the Separatists lead by non-humans, he creates a situation where other (perhaps troublesome) non-humans can be cast in a doubtful light if he so requires.

6) Palpatine sets the Jedi up. I've spoken about this before, so won't go into detail. But suffice it to say that he really worked them over. Palpatine got a bunch of them killed in combat and had the others spread out and unwittingly placed in front of the guns of troops who were programmed to be loyal to him. And when he defeated those who knew his true nature, he could spin any story he wanted about the Jedi- namely that they were trying to seize power for themselves- something which would gain a lot of traction based upon the trust the people had for him and the seeming isolation the Jedi had from the rest of the galactic public.

Seriously, that is an awesome plan. And what is more awesome is that it WORKED. For over twenty years, it worked. That's not something MOST movie villains can boast. I mean, your typical Bond villain never lives to see the fruition of their evil plans. The Emperor, in this instance, does NOT follow the 'Evil Overlord' rules set. And that is what makes him (in my book) one of the best movie villains of all time. And you know what? It is the prequels that were responsible for telling this awesome story. Say what you will about other aspects of those films, but this is one thing they really got right.